Guilty Hearts
by arysa13
Summary: After their clandestine encounter the night they caught the Black Hood, Archie and Betty try to fix things with Veronica and Jughead. Only, they can't seem to stop thinking about each other.
1. Chapter 1

Betty collapses on her bed after walking home from school alone. The day has been completely and totally exhausting. With Southside High closing, it seems like a constant battle to keep both the North siders and the South siders happy. Cheryl still won't let it go. And yet, other than that almost frivolous drama, everything is perfectly normal. It seems strange to Betty, after weeks of being tormented by the Black Hood, of constantly thinking about ways to catch him and ways to keep her friends safe. She doesn't have to worry about that anymore.

She should feel content, at peace, and she does feel relief to some extent. But after everything she went through, after everything the Black Hood put her through, after that night with Archie, hunting the Black Hood through the night, she doesn't know if she'll ever truly feel at peace in this town again.

She badly wants to forget that night. She wants to forget being held at gunpoint, and forget Archie getting into that coffin in the hopes of sparing her life. And God, does she want to forget what had happened with Archie only forty minutes earlier, in a car outside Cheryl Blossom's house. Somehow that's the part that haunts her the most.

She groans into her pillow as the memory surfaces.

Archie gripping her hands tightly, looking at her with those deep brown eyes, telling her how much he needed her. The pounding of her heart. All rational thought leaving her brain as she kissed him, the warmth that bloomed in her chest when he kissed her back. Desire swelling inside her. And then somehow, she was in his lap, straddling him, and his hands were in her hair, under her shirt, between her legs. They'd only come to their senses when they realised neither of them had a condom.

Betty cringes now when she thinks about what might have happened had Archie had one on him. It would have been such a mistake. It was a mistake to let it get as far as it did. And maybe as she thinks about it now her heartrate speeds up, and a there's a throbbing between her legs as her panties dampen. Maybe she can still feel the ghosts of his fingertips on her skin. But it doesn't mean anything. It _can't_ mean anything.

Especially since Betty's very next unwanted vision is the memory of Archie and Veronica stumbling into the common room only a few days later, mouths all over each other. They're back together. Which is a good thing, of course. It means there is no need for Betty to bring up the other night with Archie like she'd been planning to. They can just forget it ever happened. Or at least, hide it so well that Archie _thinks_ she's forgotten about it. That works just as well.

But seeing Archie with Veronica had made Betty ache. Not for Archie. For Jughead. She misses him. Misses having someone. She can't remember now why they aren't together. She'd spoken to him today at school, and honestly? He seemed like maybe he missed her too.

She calls him. He picks up almost instantly.

"Betty," he says. He sounds happy she called.

"Jug," Betty smiles. "Can we talk? Maybe you could come over. My mom isn't home."

There's a silence at the other end, and Betty wonders if maybe she's made a mistake. But then he says, "Sure, I'll be right over," and Betty hangs up the phone and lies back down on her bed, clutching it to her chest.

She hears his motorbike pull up a few minutes later, and she pulls back the curtain on her front facing window to peer down at him. She watches him take off his helmet and shake his hair loose. He has such nice hair. Betty wishes he'd show it off more. He looks up and meets her eyes, and Betty gives him a little wave before skipping down the stairs, two at a time, to meet him.

He lets himself in and he's waiting just inside the door. Betty stops at the bottom of the stairs. They're supposed to talk. She should probably tell him what happened with Archie. He should probably apologise for breaking up with her in the first place. But right now, Betty knows those conversations are only going to complicate things, and right now she doesn't want complicated. She just wants him.

She surges forward, and Jughead meets her halfway, their lips colliding.

"Jug, I need you," Betty whispers. "I'm ready."

Jughead swallows. "Yeah?"

Betty nods. She'd almost gone that far with Archie. It should be easy with Jughead.

Upstairs, Jughead's lips latch onto hers again as she leads him into her room. Betty smiles against his mouth, spinning him around and onto the bed. She's distracted by movement from the corner of her eye and she turns her head toward the window. She can see Archie standing there in his bedroom, watching her. She can't decipher his expression.

Caught off-guard by his sudden appearance, unwanted images of him flash through her mind. Underneath her, all over her. Her own voice echoes in her head.

 _"Touch me, Archie_."

 _"Like that?"_

 _"Yes. Like that."_

She flushes, remembering how desperate she'd sounded, and how it felt when he put his fingers inside her. She'd gone that far with Jughead already. But with Jughead it had been more careful, more deliberate. She'd thought about it, had time to get nervous and overthink it, and change her mind several times. And then when it was over it didn't seem like such a big deal.

It's the opposite with Archie. She hadn't overthought it at all. She let herself get caught up in the moment, handed herself over to her lust. And now it seems like a _huge_ deal.

"What is it?" Jughead asks, propping himself up on his elbows. "We don't have to do this if you don't want. I just want to be with you, Betty."

Betty whips her head back around to face him, feeling guilty. She should tell him.

"It's Archie," she says in a rush. She swallows.

"Well, close the blinds so we can have some privacy," Jughead grins. Betty gives him a forced smile and heads to the window. She makes eye contact with Archie again. He smiles. Betty's stomach flips over and she hastily closes the blind.

* * *

Archie appears on her doorstep the next morning. Betty freezes when she opens the door. Archie grins at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too."

"Sorry. I'm just surprised to see you."

"I live next door, remember?"

Betty rolls her eyes, and Archie chuckles.

"I thought I'd walk you to school," he shrugs.

Betty nods. "Okay."

Betty grabs her schoolbag and follows Archie outside.

"So," Archie says. "You and Jughead are back together."

"We are," Betty says, not looking at him. "So are you and Veronica."

"She came over on Christmas Day and we worked things out."

"Good. I'm happy for you, Arch."

"Yeah, me too. Happy for you, I mean."

Betty glances at him. His brow is furrowed like he's deep in thought. He doesn't _look_ happy.

They should talk about that night. They should debrief about everything that happened, support each other after what they went through together. No one else was there. No one else could ever understand what it was like for Betty to bury her best friend alive.

But if they talk about that it might lead to talking about the _other_ thing. Which they should probably also talk about. But just thinking about it makes Betty's stomach tighten. Besides, what is there to even say about it? It clearly meant nothing. The whole conversation would just be pointless and uncomfortable.

Archie opens his mouth to speak. Betty cuts him off.

"We should go on a double date! Now that we're both happily in relationships again. I've missed that."

Maybe her voice is a little too high, a little too eager.

"Sounds good, Betty."

* * *

They don't see that much of each other after that. Sure, they _see_ each other. But they never go on that double date, and they don't walk to school together. They're both too wrapped up in their significant others, trying to make sure whatever went wrong last time doesn't go wrong this time.

Archie tries out for the wrestling team of all things. Betty wants to make fun of him for it, but she finds she never gets the opportunity. She doesn't even see him through her window, and she assumes it's because he's spending most of his time with Veronica at the Pembrooke.

Then again, he's not the only one who's barely been around. Betty has spent a lot of time with Jughead in FP's trailer, doing her best to be a doting girlfriend. She's wracked by guilt for what she did with Archie, and she wants to tell Jughead, to be honest with him. But something holds her back.

Jughead even provides her with the perfect opportunity, admitting to her that he'd hooked up with Toni during the break up. But if the tiny twinge of jealousy Betty had felt at learning that information told her anything, it's that Jughead would be ten times as hurt if Betty told him she'd hooked up with _Archie_ of all people. Anyone else, _anyone_ , and maybe it would be fine. But Archie? Jughead would never forgive either of them.

So, she buries her guilt and puts on the façade of the perfect girlfriend. Jughead doesn't seem to notice how hard she's trying. She thinks it should be easier, being his girlfriend. But she can't seem to get Archie out of her head, no matter how hard she tries.

If she's not with Jughead, she's at the Blue & Gold office, running the paper entirely on her own. Jughead will write a story or two for her, and Kevin, and a few others, but no one else is really interested in actually _running_ the paper.

It's there that Archie finds her after school, a couple weeks into February, trying to work out some last-minute layout errors. He taps on the doorframe, and Betty looks up.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," Betty nods. "Sorry about the mess."

Archie raises an eyebrow at her and she laughs. Like he cares about the mess. He pulls up a stool across the desk from her.

"What brings you here?" Betty asks.

Archie shrugs. "I feel like I've barely seen you lately."

"Too busy with the wrestling team?" Betty teases.

"Ha. Shut up."

"Why exactly are you doing wrestling?"

"Just… trying new things," Archie says. Betty sees right through him. She gives him a disbelieving look. He sighs. "Ronnie thought it might… impress Mr Lodge."

"And how is that working out for you?"

"Great, actually. Well, he likes me now."

"But what about basketball?"

"What about it? I can't do both."

"But you love basketball."

Archie shrugs. "Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for your relationship."

Betty hides her disapproval, ducking her head to look at her layout again. Sure, sometimes you have to make sacrifices in a relationship. But should he really have to give up a sport he loves for one he hates, just to impress some criminal?

"Listen," Archie says, breaking the silence. Betty looks up again. "I've been thinking about you a lot lately."

"You have?" She feels her heart flutter at the words.

"I feel like I owe you an apology."

"An apology? Why?"

"For… for what happened the night of the Black Hood. I let things get too far, and then we didn't even talk about it and I just got back with Veronica without seeing how you felt about it. I'm sorry."

Betty shakes her head, her eyes welling with tears. "Archie," she says. "God, that's nothing. You don't owe me an apology for that. I _buried you alive_ , I—I still think about it. I have nightmares about it sometimes. I'm so, so sorry, Arch, I—"

"Hey, listen to me," Archie says fiercely. His eyes flash. "You don't ever have to be sorry about that. Ever. I got into that grave willingly and I would do it again."

"Even if I couldn't save you?"

Archie's lips curve up, just a little. "Even then. I would die for you, Betty Cooper."

Betty doesn't doubt it. Her heart swells, his love for her almost palpable. She hopes he knows how much she loves him too.

"I would never let you."

"I know."

There eyes meet, and Betty's heart is thundering in her chest. Can he hear it? Can he feel the tension between them, or is it all in her head?

"Betty," Archie says, his voice low. "That night—"

Betty swallows. His eyes rake over her, and she shivers. She knows it's not all in her head. He feels it too. There's something between them, some spark that ignited that night in the car.

Archie opens his mouth to continue.

"Don't say anything," Betty whispers. He can't say it out loud. If he says it out loud it might mean something.

Archie looks disappointed, and Betty yearns to reach out and touch him, comfort him, hold him in her arms. She folds her hands in her lap tightly.

Archie nods shortly and leaves the room. Betty exhales as soon as he's gone. Her hands are shaking, and her heart is pounding.

She groans, putting her head in her hands. _It's nothing,_ she tells herself. _You don't have feelings for Archie._

Except, she thinks maybe, actually, she does. And what's worse, is she thinks he might actually have feelings for her too.


	2. Chapter 2

Betty has a dream. Archie is in it.

They're in the Blue & Gold office, and the conversation they have is similar to the one they'd _actually_ had. Only this time, he kisses her. And then he undresses her slowly, and himself, and he touches her everywhere she wants to be touched.

She wakes up breathing heavy, aching to be touched for real, her panties soaking.

Jughead stirs beside her, and Betty sighs, feeling desperately guilty.

She tries to tell herself it was just a dream. She can't help what she dreams. It's the same as if she had a sex dream about some random celebrity.

But she can't really defend closing her eyes and letting the fantasy continue, though she's wide awake and her boyfriend is right next to her.

It's just that though, isn't it? A fantasy. Nothing is ever going to come of it, so what harm is it? Jughead never has to know.

* * *

On the first Sunday of Spring, Betty wakes up to sunlight streaming in through her window, and birds chirping outside. It's going to be a mild March.

She gets up and pads down the hallway, only to find her mother changing the sheets in Polly's room, though Polly has been gone for months now.

"Mom?" Betty asks, hovering in the doorway to her sister's old room. Alice looks up. "What are you doing?"

"I know no one has slept in here, but that's exactly the reason the sheets need changing. Everything in here is covered in dust," Alice says.

Betty shakes her head. She's sure her mother has gone crazy.

"Besides, Archie will hardly want to sleep in a bed covered with flowers," Alice continues.

Betty squints at her mom. "Archie?"

Alice fluffs one of the pillows. "Didn't he tell you? Fred is going away for a week and Archie is staying here."

" _Here_?" Betty chokes. She can't imagine why. He's perfectly capable of being on his own for a week, and even if he wasn't, Betty would have thought Veronica was the obvious choice for who to stay with.

"I was surprised too, Betty," Alice rolls her eyes. "Why it had to be here I'll never know, but Fred was quite insistent. And we do have a spare room," she concedes.

"Okay," Betty nods. She's not entirely sure how to feel about this. An entire week of living with Archie.

It's not a _bad_ thing. She likes spending time with Archie. But with the _feelings_ she's been having lately, she's not sure it's a great idea to be in such close proximity to him for an extended period of time.

He arrives with a bag and his guitar an hour later. Betty had thought he'd kind of given up music for the time being.

"Where should I put this stuff?" Archie asks.

"We've put you in Polly's old room," Alice tells him. "Betty will take you."

Of course, Betty is aware that Archie knows exactly where Polly's room is, he's been in their house enough times over the years. She takes him there anyway.

"It's good to see you with your guitar again," Betty says as Archie dumps his things on the floor.

"My dad said the same thing," Archie says.

There's a moment of awkward silence as Archie surveys the room and Betty surveys Archie. Or maybe it's not awkward at all. Perhaps she's imagining things.

"So, I guess you're going to be living here for a week," Betty says.

"I guess so," Archie nods. "It's okay, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Betty hastens to assure him. She hesitates. "Random question. Why here? Why not Veronica or Jughead? Or just staying at home?"

Archie shrugs. "My dad didn't want me to stay home alone. He said it's not safe, even with the Black Hood gone. And your place is the closest to school and home."

"Okay," Betty nods. "Well, I've got some homework to do, so I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Archie nods, and Betty leaves him to get settled in.

* * *

Betty has another dream about Archie. Well, this one is more of a nightmare.

She's back in the cemetery, a gun pointed at her head. She piles dirt into the grave, and it hits the coffin with a sickening thud each time. She knows Archie is in there. Only this time she can't save him. She fills the grave. The Black Hood shoots himself in the head. Covered in blood, Betty digs through six feet of dirt with her hands. When she finally gets to the coffin, inside is Archie's lifeless corpse. She clutches at the body, crying and screaming his name.

Someone shakes her awake.

"Betty! _Betty_!"

Her eyes fly open and she jolts upright. Her heart pounds and she's breathing heavy and still in her stomach is that sick feeling of guilt. But Archie isn't dead.

"I'm right here," he says, his voice soothing. He sits down beside her on her bed, dressed in just a pair of boxers.

"Archie?" she says, her voice croaky.

"Yeah, I'm here, it's okay," he says.

Betty nods, bursting into tears. Archie wraps his arms around her and rubs her back while she cries into his shoulder.

"You were dead," she sobs. "I buried you and when I dug you up you were dead."

"It was just a nightmare," Archie tells her. He lets her cry into his shoulder for the better part of half an hour. Eventually she calms down and pulls away, suddenly aware of how he's almost naked and how he's warm and he has this comforting smell that makes her a little nostalgic.

Betty wipes tears from her cheeks, Archie watching her, concerned. "How are you okay?" she asks. "I have nightmares about that night three or four times a week. Every time my phone rings I think it's going to be him, even though I know he's dead. I _know_. But I still feel like any minute he's going to come back and force me to do things. Kill more people. And you seem _fine_."

Archie swallows. "I'm not fine," he tells her. He slips his hand into hers. "I lied before. About why I'm staying here. My dad was fine with me staying at home by myself. But I couldn't bear to be alone for a week. Every noise makes me think the Black Hood is breaking into my house. It's bad enough when my dad is there, but I think I'd go crazy if I had to be there alone. And I have nightmares too."

Betty listens to all this, watching him. Her heart aches for him. He doesn't look at her while he speaks, instead focusing on their joined hands.

"What are your nightmares about?" Betty asks.

Archie shrugs. "Mostly about my dad being shot."

"I'm sorry."

He meets her eyes then. "I feel scared, all the time, and I hate it. I didn't want to admit it to anyone."

"No one would think less of you."

Archie doesn't seem convinced. "That's only part of the reason I'm staying here. It's not just the Black Hood I'm afraid of. It's Hiram Lodge. I think he's a killer, Betty. And he wants me to do things…"

Betty squeezes his hand. "I'm here. I'm here for you. Don't let him manipulate you, Arch. You have such a big heart and I know you will do anything for Veronica. But don't let the Lodges change who you are."

Archie smiles. His thumb gently strokes the back of her hand, and the feather light touch gets Betty's stomach fluttering. She should pull away, but she doesn't. She just watches him caress her hand like it's nothing. She feels him watching her, and she looks up, meeting his eyes.

"I should go back to bed," Archie says, his voice hoarser than it had been previously. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Betty nods. She wants to ask him to stay. She knows he wants her to ask him. He stands, only dropping her hand when he can't reach it any longer.

"Arch?" Betty says hesitantly, as he reaches the door. He turns back. She opens her mouth. She almost tells him to stay. "Goodnight," she says instead.

Archie smiles. "Goodnight, Betty."

He closes the door behind him and Betty lies back down. Somehow, she knows she won't sleep. After a minute of consideration, she folds her covers back and slips out of bed, padding down the hallway to Polly's old room. She doesn't bother knocking, just pushes the door open.

If Archie is surprised to see her he doesn't show it. He doesn't say anything, just shifts over, so there's room on the bed for her. Betty closes the door and walks over to the bed, getting under the covers beside him. He puts his arms around her silently, and she's asleep in minutes.

* * *

Living with Archie doesn't mean spending 24/7 with him. They walk to and from school together on Monday, but they both have different routines in the morning and after school.

Betty is already basically ready before Archie even gets out of bed. He uses his fifteen minutes to do his hair and scoff down two bowls of cereal.

After school, Betty heads straight to her room to do homework, while Archie plucks at his guitar in the next room. She thinks he must be writing something. She can't really make out any lyrics or even much of the melody, but she finds the strumming soothing.

Betty helps her mom cook dinner while Archie goes for a run. Betty swears that boy has some kind of internal clock that lets him know when food is about to be served, because they're just about to dish up when Betty hears the front door open again.

"Dinner's ready!" Betty calls, and moments later she hears Archie enter the kitchen, panting. Betty turns to make fun of him for his impeccable timing, but when she looks at him, she finds the words die on her tongue. She probably shouldn't be rendered speechless by a shirtless Archie Andrews anymore, after all, he's shirtless a lot. But something about his messy hair and his sweaty chest gets her hot all over. Yeah, she really shouldn't be turned on by this.

"Is it okay if I have a quick shower before we eat? I promise I won't be long," Archie says. He meets Betty's eye and she nods, because apparently that's all she's capable of right now.

"That's fine, Archie," Alice says. Archie nods and heads upstairs. Alice gives Betty a suspicious frown, and Betty can feel her face turning bright red. She busies herself with tossing the salad.

Archie is fully dressed when he returns downstairs five minutes later. He joins Betty in the kitchen and helps her dish up the spaghetti. Betty can't look at him. He may have a shirt on now but he's still all damp and sexy, and he smells really good.

In any case, the damage has already been done. He's got her all flustered and hot and she can't stop thinking about him without his clothes on.

He sits next to her at the dinner table, his knee pressed against hers. She could move. It wouldn't be very hard to just shift slightly so they aren't touching. But she doesn't.

"This is delicious, thanks, Mrs Cooper," Archie says, twirling another mouthful of spaghetti onto his fork.

"It's just spaghetti, Archie," Alice rolls her eyes, but Betty thinks her mom looks pleased. Archie glances at Betty and grins. He thinks he's such a charmer. She shakes her head, but she smiles anyway.

"Archie, are you singing at the Spring Fete on the weekend?" Alice asks.

"Yeah," Archie nods. He moves his leg abruptly so their knees no longer touch. "With Veronica."

Archie glances at Betty, and she's plunged back into guilt. She reminds herself she hasn't done anything wrong. She just has to get a handle on her thoughts and emotions before they get too out of control.

After dinner, Archie offers to do the washing up. Betty offers to help him but he waves her away, and Betty retreats to her bedroom. She tries to finish up her homework but she can't seem to concentrate. She's still on edge from before, and her body is still all tingly. She bites her lip, glancing at the door.

She crosses the room and makes sure the door is firmly locked. She settles back onto her bed and gingerly slips her hand into her panties. She's soaking wet, like she knew she would be.

She lets her finger slowly trail along her slit a couple of times, and then she circles her clit, feeling it throb. She bites her lip and closes her eyes, trying to conjure up an image of Jughead. Jughead is sexy, there's no doubt about it. He's got that dangerous brooding thing going on, and damn it if he doesn't look good in a leather jacket.

But the image doesn't last long. As Betty lets her fingers work her clit, her thoughts inevitably slide to Archie, all sweaty and muscular. Betty whines as she rubs her clit, imagining it's Archie's hand and not her own. She imagines him on top of her, kissing her all over her body, fingering her like she's fingering herself now.

Even as she nears climax, she knows it's wrong. He's her best friend's boyfriend. Her boyfriend's best friend. Could it get any more fucked up than that? And yet the guilt is nothing compared to her arousal, her desperate need to come, and it's only the fantasy of him that gets her there.

She lies there, breathing hard, her hand still in her panties, fingers covered in her own juices. The guilt really hits her then. It isn't fair. She was over him! She was perfectly happy and in love with Jughead, her crush on Archie dissolved to nothing.

Except apparently it hadn't. Apparently, she had just buried it so deep she'd forgotten about it, but now it's back, worse than ever.

She's a terrible person. A bad friend, and an even worse girlfriend. She shouldn't want him. And yet she does, she does, she does.


	3. Chapter 3

Veronica suggests a girls' date at Pop's after school on Thursday, and Betty agrees. It will be nice to spend some quality time with Veronica.

"Is Archie okay?" Veronica asks as they wait for their milkshakes.

Betty frowns. "Of course, V. Why wouldn't he be?"

"I don't get why he's staying at your place and not mine. I told him Daddy was perfectly fine with it as long as he sleeps in the guest bedroom. Of course, I'd sneak him into my room but that's beside the point."

Betty shrugs. "He said he wanted to be closer to home and school. But if you're worried about him, maybe you should talk to him?"

"I've tried, but he keeps shutting me out," Veronica sighs. "If he says something, will you tell me?"

Betty nods, though it's a lie. Veronica is her best girl-friend, and she loves her. But Betty's loyalty is to Archie first, always.

Veronica shows no other signs that she's annoyed that Archie is staying at Betty's. Betty can't help but think that might not be the case if Veronica knew what had happened between Betty and Archie the night of the Black Hood. Or if she knew what Betty had been thinking about as she touched herself last night.

The girls finish their milkshakes and walk back to Betty's place together. As they reach the house, they hear the strumming of a guitar and Archie singing from his own garage, and they bypass the Cooper house in favour of seeing what Archie's up to.

He stops playing immediately when he notices the girls watching him.

"Don't stop on our account," Veronica says. "I haven't heard you play anything new in ages."

"We practised together at school today," Archie points out.

"But not something you _wrote_ ," Veronica huffs.

"He's been writing all week," Betty says. Archie shoots her an accusatory look. Betty shrugs. What's the big deal? It's not like it's a secret that he writes songs. She'd like to hear it too.

"Come on, play me something, Archiekins," Veronica bats her eyes at him, and apparently that's all it takes, because he sighs and his fingers find their place on the neck of the guitar.

Veronica looks pleased, and she drags the stool from the drums over to sit down. Betty remains standing. Archie glances up at them one last time before he starts to strum.

 _"Your name, gets my heart racing  
Can't see the demons I'm facing  
You've always been right there on my side  
Even when I've fucked up, let you down, or lied_

 _I swear you know me better than I ever could  
I swear you hold me tighter than anyone else would  
I swear you love me more than anyone should  
I swear you make me feel, make me feel so good."_

Truthfully, the song could easily be about Veronica. She clearly thinks it is, from the way she's tearing up. But deep down, Betty knows it's not. She closes her eyes as she listens to the lyrics, and she knows Archie is singing to her. Maybe it's that one line. _I swear you know me better than I ever could_. No one knows Archie better than she does, not even his dad, and certainly not _Veronica_ , who hasn't even known him a year.

" _Don't want to be without you  
I always dream about you  
Look me in the eye and try to say it's not real  
And I feel I don't deserve you  
But I swear I'll never hurt you  
I just want to make you feel the way you make me feel."_

Archie finishes the song, and Veronica applauds, standing up from her stool. Archie puts the guitar down, glancing at Betty. Betty chews the inside of her cheek, keeping her arms folded. Veronica rushes over to Archie and he stands up as Veronica kisses him.

Betty watches, her stomach sick as Archie's arms circle around Veronica. She has no right to feel jealous, and yet she does.

Veronica pulls away. "I can't believe you wrote me a song," she gushes. "It was so good, Archiekins. Right, Betty?"

Both of them look to Betty and she nods. "It was really good, Arch," she smiles. She's not lying. The song really was something. But it's left her feeling hollow. Or maybe it's the way Veronica is clinging to Archie. The way Archie clutches her waist. The way they kiss like no one is watching. Maybe the song is about Veronica after all.

"I'll let you two have some alone time," Betty says. Neither of them even responds as Betty leaves the garage. She heads to her room and throws herself on her bed.

She's glad she never let herself truly entertain the thought of being with Archie. Sure, she had a couple of fantasies, but she never deluded herself into thinking something might actually happen between them. Not this time, anyway.

After all, he's never going to leave Veronica. And it's not like Betty is going to leave Jughead either. And even if they both happened to break up with their respective partners, it's not like anything could ever _happen_. Anything that could occur between Betty and Archie, any relationship that might blossom, would be seen as an act of utter betrayal. Which is why that night in the car remains a secret.

And even if Betty had, somewhere deep inside her, imagined that something could still happen between her and Archie, one day, far in the future, she is very much aware now, that no such thing will ever be possible. And somehow, coming to that realisation hurts like hell.

* * *

It's warm, the Saturday of the Spring Fete, the warmest day of the year yet. It's sunny outside, although there is a storm forecast later. Sure she'll be home by then, Betty puts on a dress for the occasion. It's a short floral thing, with buttons all the way down the front. She thinks she looks pretty. She feels pretty.

Especially when she walks out of her room and Archie smiles at her and tells her she looks pretty. She tries not to blush.

"Jughead's picking me up in a minute," Betty says. "We'll meet you there, I guess."

Archie frowns. "On his motorbike?"

Betty nods. "Yeah."

Archie glances down at what she's wearing. And okay, maybe it's not the most suitable motorcycle gear, but he has a spare helmet and it's only a couple of minutes away. Jughead swears he'll never crash.

"How about we all just go in Ronnie's car?" Archie suggests. "She's coming to pick me up soon anyway."

Betty nods. "Okay."

It's not like Archie to be the sensible one, but she does have to concede he's right. She's not sure what she'd been thinking, except that it was a cute dress and that Jughead wouldn't let any harm come to her. Would he have let her get on the motorbike with her legs uncovered like that?

He says nothing about the dress when he arrives. He gives her a peck on the lips, and puts his bike in the garage when Betty tells him they're getting a ride with Veronica.

The fete is being held in the park, and there had been people around all week setting up, decorating and organising. Kevin had tried to rope Betty into helping, but she had claimed she had too much to do with the Blue and Gold.

It seems like the whole town is there, enjoying the warm weather and the spring atmosphere. Jughead takes Betty's hand as they leave the car and start wandering through the stalls of food and drink and games. Veronica and Archie walk behind them. There's a slight breeze that ruffles Betty's hair and the bottom of her dress, but even then, the day is pleasant.

The four of them grab some fries and hotdogs and find a place to sit on the grass. Betty struggles to find a position that doesn't flash her underwear to the whole world.

"I can't wait to hear what you guys have been rehearsing all week," Betty says to Veronica.

Veronica beams. "I really think we're going to give Josie and Cheryl a run for their money."

"It's not a competition though, is it?"

"Everything with Cheryl is a competition."

Jughead chews on his hot dog, not bothering to finish swallowing before he speaks. "What time are you guys performing?"

Betty looks to Archie while Veronica answers the question, wondering why he's so quiet. Her face heats up when she realises he's looking at her. More specifically, the expanse of white skin that's showing beneath the hem of her dress. She glances down, checking if he can see up it. Some sick part of her hopes he can.

"Betty, you really need to get a tan if you're going to show that much leg," Veronica says. "I feel like I'm going blind." Her voice is teasing, but she must have noticed Archie looking, otherwise why point it out?

Betty tugs at her skirt self-consciously. She meets Archie's eyes, and he flushes, knowing he's been caught, not only by Betty, but Veronica too.

"Don't listen to her, Betty," Jughead says, placing a hand on Betty's knee. Archie looks away quickly.

"I'm only joking," Veronica says. "Betty knows that. Archiekins, get me a drink, will you?"

Archie nods. "Sure," he says, getting up and heading back towards the food stalls. Veronica watches him go.

"How will he know what to get you?" Betty asks.

"He should know," Veronica shrugs.

* * *

Jughead and Betty stand in the crowd while Archie and Veronica take their places on the makeshift stage.

They sing Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper. Archie starts.

" _Lying in my bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you…_ "

Betty feels Jughead slip his hand into hers again and she looks to him with a smile. He looks serious.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he says. Betty nods, and they weave their way to the back of the crowd.

"What's going on?" Betty asks as Veronica's voice echoes through the park.

 _"You say go slow. I fall behind._ "

"You know I trust you, right?" Jughead asks. Betty nods. "And it's not that I don't trust Archie, I swear…"

"Jug? What's going on?"

"I'm just airing my insecurities so they don't… fester," he huffs. "So you can reassure me."

"Okay…"

Archie and Veronica continue singing in the background. " _If you're lost, you can look and you will find me, time after time…"_

Jughead takes a deep breath. "I didn't like the way he was looking at you before."

Betty's stomach clenches. So Jughead had noticed too.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

Jughead shrugs. "He was staring at you. A few times." A few times? Betty had only noticed the once.

"He was probably just spaced out. Not thinking about where he was looking," Betty says.

Jughead shakes his head. "He was definitely looking at you. Like… like he was picturing what was _under_ your dress."

" _Watching through windows, you're wondering if I'm okay. Secrets stolen from deep inside. The drum beats out of time…"_

Betty flushes. "Jug," she says, sounding much calmer than she's feeling. "If he was… and I really doubt he was, then that's all on him. There is nothing going on between me and Archie. I can't control what he looks at or what he thinks."

Jughead nods. "I know." He lets out a long breath. "So you don't think I should mention it to him?"

Betty shakes her head. "He's probably just having a dry spell with Veronica. She hasn't been around much while he's been at my place. He'd probably be distracted by any pair of legs."

Jughead nods. He seems placated. Betty only feels a little guilty. (For what? She hasn't done anything wrong, has she?)

The catch the end of the performance, and Betty is sure that she must be imagining that Archie is looking dead at her.

" _If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting. Time after time."_

After the performances, the fete seems to be winding down a little, and dark clouds have blocked out the sun. Cheryl approaches, hand in hand with Toni. Strange, Betty had no idea they were together, or even that Cheryl was into girls. Or Serpents, for that matter.

"I'm having a little after party at Thistlehouse if you guys want to come along," Cheryl offers.

"Sounds great!" Veronica says, at the same time Archie says, "No thanks."

They look at each other. "You go," Archie says. "I can walk home."

"Are you sure?" Veronica asks. She glances upwards. "It looks like it's about to rain."

Archie shrugs. "I can make it back in time."

"I'll walk with you," Betty says. "Jug, you want to come and get your bike?"

Jughead shakes his head, also looking somewhat dubiously at the sky. "I don't really want to ride in a storm."

"I can drop you home if you like?" Veronica offers. Jughead glances at Betty before nodding.

"Thanks," he says.

Archie gives his own cursory glance to the sky, as thunder rumbles somewhere in the distance. "Come on," he says to Betty. "We better go now if we want to make it home before it starts raining."

Betty risks a glance at Jughead. He nods again, like he's trying to convince himself there isn't anything to worry about. Betty smiles at him, trying to convince him the same.

Archie goes to leave.

"Archiekins. Wait," Veronica says, and Archie turns back. Veronica grabs him and pulls him down to kiss him. Passionately. Possessively. Betty has to look away.

Veronica lets Archie go, and she stalks off with Cheryl and Toni. Jughead gives Betty and Archie one last indecipherable look before he follows.

* * *

There's no reason for their hands to touch as they walk home. The path is perfectly wide enough for the both of them. And yet with every step, the backs of their hands brush against each other, sending goosebumps up Betty's arm.

Thunder crashes. Betty looks up.

"Do you think we'll make it?"

Archie considers. "Probably not."

Moments later, the heavens open and it begins to pour. Betty squeals and Archie laughs.

"Come on," he says. He grabs her hand and they sprint down their street towards Betty's house. They're absolutely drenched by the time they make it inside. Betty's heart is racing and she's sure the grin on her face is as wide as the one on Archie's.

Archie goes to take a step towards the stairs, but Betty grabs his arm, stopping him.

"Wait, wait!" she hisses. "Mom will kill us if we drip water all over the carpet."

Archie tilts his head. "Is she home?" he asks.

Betty shakes her head. She supposes as long as it dries before Alice gets home it will be fine. She's about to say so, but Archie is already slipping off his shoes and socks. Then he pulls his sopping shirt over his head. It falls to the floor with a splat. Betty watches, her heart in her throat, her face flaming. Archie's eyes don't leave her as he reaches for the button on his jeans. He undoes his pants and pulls them off, letting them join his shirt on the floor.

Betty lets her eyes trail over his body, the sight of him half naked making her heart pound and her knees weak. She wants to run her tongue over every inch of him.

She looks down at her own drenched dress, clinging to her every curve. She reaches for the top button. Her hands shake, whether from cold or nerves she doesn't know. She fumbles with the button, unable to get it undone.

Archie steps towards her. "Here," he says. Betty drops her hands and lets him take over. He's so close she can feel his breath, see his bare chest rise and fall. Heat radiates from his body and she wants to press herself against him. Partly for warmth, partly because she aches to touch him, to feel his body hard against hers.

He undoes the buttons on her dress slowly. She trembles as his knuckles brush over her bare skin, her breasts, her stomach, and she feels like she might die. It's excruciating to be this close to him and not be able to do anything about it.

He could stop when he gets to belly button. The dress would still come off easily. But he drops to his knees, and the dirty fantasies that arise in Betty's mind are almost too much to bear. He keeps unbuttoning her dress, revealing her pink panties. It would be so easy for him to just lean in and kiss her there. Run his tongue along her slit. God, she wants him to. Every fibre of her being yearns for him to touch her there, with his tongue, his fingers. She wants him to suck on her nipples, finger her until she can't stand it. She wants him to put his cock in her and fuck her until she can't walk.

He reaches the bottom of the dress and stands up. Betty bites her lip as he slides the dress from her shoulders and lets it fall to the floor. Her pussy pulses, desperate for attention.

"Your panties are all wet too," Archie murmurs. Betty flushes. "From the rain," Archie clarifies.

Betty looks down, barely able to make eye contact. His cock has formed a large tent in his boxers, and Betty finds herself blushing again. Fuck. Has he been thinking about the same things as she has?

She looks back up at him. "Arch," she says, her voice barely a whisper. "I wish we could—"

"Me too," he says hoarsely. "You have no idea how much self-control it's taking not to kiss you right now."

Betty's eyes flick to his lips. She feels the same way. It takes every ounce of her being not to give in to her desires.

Why are they doing this? To torture themselves?

Are they still toeing the line, or did they cross it eons ago?

Betty swallows. "We should put our clothes in the dryer."

Archie nods. They scoop up the wet clothes and throw them in the dryer. They head upstairs and Betty grabs them both towels. They head to their respective rooms and Betty peels off her damp underwear and wraps herself in the big fluffy white towel.

Then she goes back to Archie's room. He's got the towel wrapped around his waist and he's lying on his bed on his phone.

"Hey," he says when he sees Betty in the doorway. He gestures for Betty to come over, and she pads across the room and lies beside him on the bed.

She doesn't know why she didn't get dressed. Perhaps to torture herself a little more. Perhaps to torture him. Perhaps she's hoping the towel will slip and she'll accidentally reveal herself to him. She gets a thrill at the thought of it. God, she's sick.

Archie slips his hand into hers and gives it a squeeze.

"Betty," he says. "What the fuck are we doing?"

"I don't know," Betty whispers.

Archie turns on his side to face her, and Betty does the same.

"Do you want me to—" he starts. "Should I—?"

"Should you what?"

His phone rings.

"It's Veronica," he says, pulling his hand from Betty's. He answers. "Hey, what's going on?"

Betty watches him.

"Yeah, she's right here," Archie says, glancing at Betty.

He jolts upright, looking panicked.

"No!" he says. "Who told you that?... _Cheryl_? Fuck. No, I swear that's not what happened."

He swallows and glances at Betty.

"No… well, we kissed. And maybe—look, can we talk about this in person? I'll come pick you up… okay I'll meet you at the Pembrooke then."

Betty's stomach churns, guilt and dread eating at her. Veronica somehow found out about what happened the night of the Black Hood.

Archie hangs up, looking angry and defeated. "Cheryl saw us in the car that night. She told Veronica we fucked."

Betty feels like she might throw up.

"But we didn't."

"But we almost did."

Betty can't deny that.

"Betty…" Archie groans. He seems torn up. Guilt, probably. "I need you to tell me, before I talk to Veronica. Do you want me to fix things with her?"

Betty stares at him. What is he asking her? Whether she wants to be with him? Of course she fucking does. She's been in love with him since she was ten years old. Younger, maybe. But it's way too late for that. They can't be together. Their friends would never forgive them.

"Of course," Betty lies. "It's still salvageable. You guys weren't together when it happened."

Archie nods, his jaw tight. "Right." He gets up and Betty does the same. Betty goes for the door.

"If it goes well I probably won't be back tonight," Archie says. Betty nods.

"Good luck, then," she says. She goes to leave again.

"Betty—" Archie says. She stops, turning back one last time. "You should probably talk to Jughead before someone else does."

"Right," she nods. "Good point."

She steps out into the hallway and closes the door behind her. Time to work out what she's going to say to Jughead. What can she say to ease the blow? What does she need to do to save a relationship she's not even sure she wants to save?


	4. Chapter 4

Archie takes all his things with him to Veronica's. He's expecting it to go well then. Good.

Betty waits for her mom to get home and then takes the car to Jughead's. She's terrified of how he'll react when she tells him about what happened with Archie that night.

He's pleased to see her at first, but his smile turns to a look of concern when he sees Betty's expression. FP seems to sense they need privacy and makes himself scarce.

Jughead lets Betty inside. She can barely look at him.

"What's going on?" he asks.

"I have to tell you something," Betty says. "Before you hear it from someone else."

"Shit," Jughead groans. "Please don't say you cheated on me—"

"No!" Betty hastens to assure him. "I didn't cheat, I promise."

Jughead breathes a sigh of relief, nodding. He sits himself on the couch. Betty stays standing, pacing in front of him.

She takes a deep breath. "When you and I were broken up… the night Archie and I caught the Black Hood…" she swallows. "He and I…"

Jughead shakes his head, looking angry. "You guys had sex?"

"No!" Betty says. God, he keeps jumping to the wrong conclusions. Then again, she isn't doing a great job of this. "We just kissed. But Cheryl saw us and she told Veronica that we had sex. But we didn't, I swear."

Jughead considers this. "It was just a kiss?"

Betty scrunches her face up as if in pain. "There may have been some… touching," she cringes.

"Touching?" Jughead sounds disgusted. "For fuck's sake Betty, that could mean anything!" He stands up. "What? You gave him a hand job? He felt your tits up a bit?"

"Jug, please," Betty says, on the verge of tears. "What does it matter? It was just that one night, we were both scared out of our minds! You and I were broken up and I just… I needed someone, okay? And Archie was there."

Jughead's mouth forms a thin line and his jaw ticks. He's still angry, but he's listening. "So it meant nothing?"

Betty hesitates. "Of course," she lies.

Jughead groans. "Why wouldn't you tell me about this? I told you about Toni. You could've told me then."

"I know! I know," Betty says. "I just… I thought it would complicate things. I didn't want you to hate me or Archie. After what you said today…"

"I know I was acting weird today," Jughead sighs. "I'm sorry. But you should've told me, and we could have worked past this already. What you did with Archie is no worse than what I did with Toni."

Betty swallows. "So… you'll forgive me?"

Jughead shrugs. "I don't want to lose you," he says.

"I love you," Betty says quietly. Because whatever she's done, whatever else she feels, at least that is still true.

Jughead smiles reluctantly. "I know," he says. He pulls her into a hug. Betty wraps her arms around him and holds him tight. She should feel comforted. Relieved that he's willing to forgive her. Instead she just feels cold.

* * *

She doesn't hear from Archie that night, so she assumes he worked things out with Veronica. She spends the night with Jughead, and FP doesn't come home. Probably spent the night with her mom. They've been spending a lot of time together since Alice kicked Hal out for good.

Betty doesn't fall asleep easily that night, but when she does, she dreams of Archie again.

It's not a nightmare this time, or anything particularly dirty. She dreams that he loves her, and that he's holding her and that they're planning a life together.

She wakes with a start, heart pounding, as if it _was_ a nightmare or a dirty dream.

Betty glances at Jughead, snoring softly beside her. She reaches for her phone and checks the time. 1:31am. Carefully, she slides out of bed and walks outside, sitting on the front steps of the trailer. She dials Archie's number.

He picks up on the third ring.

"Betty?" he whispers, his voice croaky. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Betty says softly. "I just needed to talk to you."

He's silent for a moment. "Just give me a sec."

She waits in silence for thirty seconds until he speaks again.

"Okay," he says, still whispering. "Sorry, Veronica's in the next room."

Betty tries not to feel jealous. "How did things go?"

"She yelled a lot. She's not happy I didn't tell her, but she's willing to forgive me since it happened when we were broken up," Archie says. "Did you talk to Jughead?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"Pretty much the same as you," Betty says.

"Are you with him now?"

Betty wonders if she imagines the jealousy in his voice.

"I'm at his trailer. He's inside."

"Does he know you're talking to me?"

Betty shakes her head, though she knows he can't see her. "Do you think he'd be mad?"

Archie sighs. "I think if Ronnie walked in here now and heard me talking to you she'd be suspicious."

"So we're just supposed to not be friends anymore?"

"I think we just need to spend some time apart to let them cool off. They'll forgive and forget eventually," Archie says.

Betty feels sick at the thought. She doesn't want to spend any time apart from Archie. They fall into silence.

"Arch…" Betty says, and for some reason her voice cracks. She's scared to ask, but she has to know. "Do you want to be with me?"

Archie is silent for too long. She shouldn't have asked. She should have kept her mouth shut.

"Yes," he says eventually. "Yes, Betty."

Betty isn't sure if her heart is breaking or expanding. She can't breathe.

"And you…?" Archie asks, his voice low, hesitant. "Do you want to be with me?"

"Yes," Betty whimpers.

Archie groans. "God, this is so fucked up."

Betty lets out a sob. She brings her fingers to her eye and they come away wet. She hadn't even realised she'd been crying.

"Hey, hey," Archie says, quick to comfort her. "Don't cry. Don't cry when I can't be there to comfort you."

"It's okay, Arch," Betty says. "I don't even know why I'm crying."

Except she does. She's in love with him. More in love with him than ever. And she can never be with him without hurting two other people she loves.

She wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I called," she says.

"Never be sorry for that."

"I guess I'll see you at school on Monday," Betty says.

"Yeah," Archie agrees.

There's nothing else to say. She hangs up. She sits there for a moment before a voice startles her.

"Was that him?" Jughead asks. Betty turns to see him standing in the doorway. How long has he been there?

"Yeah," Betty says. No sense in lying about that. "I was just checking if he made up with Veronica. He says she forgave him."

"That's good," Jughead says. Betty can't tell if he believes her or not, but he doesn't say anything else. He just turns and walks back inside. Betty gives herself a minute to collect herself before she follows.

* * *

Betty returns home on Sunday. She drives Jughead to her place so he can pick up his bike, and then he leaves.

Betty's stomach hasn't stopped churning since her phone call to Archie last night.

He wants to be with her. She wants to be with him. So what the fuck are they doing with other people? They're only making themselves _and_ their partners miserable. Are they only staying with Jughead and Veronica out of some messed up sense of responsibility they feel? Some debt they feel they owe to their partners because they were once in love?

And that's the thing. Betty doesn't think she _is_ in love with Jughead anymore. Sure, she loves him. But she doesn't want to be with him. And she can't keep stringing him along just because she's scared to hurt him. That will only hurt him more in the long run.

Betty is sitting on Archie's front steps when he gets back from Veronica's. He slows when he sees her, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows.

"I thought we agreed we shouldn't see each other for a while," Archie says uncertainly.

Betty shakes her head. She stands up. "I don't want to do that."

Archie looks pained. "Betty—" he cuts himself off with a sigh. "Do you think I want to? But you told me to fix things with Veronica. And you've fixed things with Jughead. Let's not torture ourselves."

"Archie, you told me last night you want to be with me," Betty says. "Is that true?"

Archie nods once. Betty tilts her head. Archie looks pained, as if he's trying to solve a particularly hard math problem.

"Betty," he says. "I love you, but—"

"You love me?" Betty interrupts. Her heart hammers in her chest. Did she hear him correctly?

Archie stares at her. "Yes, Betty," he says quietly. "I love you. I am so in love with you."

Betty feels like she might cry. She feels like she's waited a lifetime for him to say those words, and mean them the way she wants him to mean them.

"But what about Veronica and Jughead? This would kill them," he says.

"I know," Betty whispers. She swallows. "But not being with you—that will kill me."

Archie looks into her eyes, uncertain. "Fuck," he says. "Okay."

"Okay?"

Archie nods. "Yes, let's do this," he says.

"Okay."

"But we're going to have to be really careful about how we go about it," Archie says.

"I know. I'll go first," Betty says. "Then you wait however long you think you need to until Veronica won't suspect it's because I've ended things with Jughead."

Archie nods. "We'll have to keep it a secret for a while."

"We can do that."

"I hate all this lying," Archie sighs.

"Me too," Betty says. "But we have to lie, or we'll hurt them even more."

"I know," Archie nods.

"Okay," Betty says. "I'm going now."

Archie swallows. "Let him down gently," he says.

"I will," Betty says. She leans in and presses a kiss against his cheek. She turns to go. She's halfway across the lawn before she turns back to him. "I love you too, you know," she calls back. She leaves Archie smiling on the front porch.

* * *

Breaking up with Jughead is easier than it should be.

Betty goes straight back to his trailer after she leaves Archie. She knows Jughead is going to suspect she's breaking up with him because there's something going on with Archie. She has to make him believe that's not true.

He lets her in, and they sit on the couch. Can he tell she's holding her breath?

"Jug—" she starts. "I don't think we should be together anymore." She glances at him. He looks angry, but not surprised.

"It's because of Archie, isn't it?" he snorts.

"No, Jug, I swear," Betty lies. She's never been a great liar, but she hopes she can get through this one. "There's nothing between me and Archie. He's with Veronica."

"Right," Jughead says flatly. "Then why?"

"It's not that I don't love you—"

"Don't do that, Betty," Jughead snaps.

"Do what?"

"Pretend you love me while you break my heart."

"But I do."

"I did nothing but love you, Betty," Jughead says angrily. "And now you want to throw all that away? Why? Give me one good reason."

"I just need some time on my own," Betty says. Another lie. "And you've got the serpents, and I don't know if I can be a part of that anymore. And then there's my mom and your dad getting together, which makes things weird…"

"All of that is a load of bullshit," Jughead says. "None of that would matter if you really loved me. So just admit it. You don't love me."

"Jug—"

"Say it!"

"Fine," Betty says, her voice shaking. She hates it when he yells at her. Tears prick the corners of her eyes. "I don't love you anymore."

"Good," Jughead says flippantly. "Now get the fuck out."

Betty flees.


	5. Chapter 5

After breaking up with Jughead, there is nothing Betty wants to do more than wrap herself in Archie's arms. But she can't go running to Archie yet. She has to keep a safe distance until he's ended things with Veronica. So, she calls Veronica instead.

Veronica is over in five minutes with two tubs of ice-cream and a bottle of wine she snuck out of her fridge at home.

Betty cries. She cries because she hurt Jughead, because she lied to him, because he hates her and he thinks she doesn't love him. Veronica hugs her and holds her tight, and Betty cries even harder, because she's an awful friend who's plotting to steal her best friend's boyfriend.

They eat the ice-cream straight out of the tub, and Veronica puts The Duff on, and Betty feels better for a while.

The movie ends, and the tubs of ice-cream are empty, as is the bottle of wine. Veronica turns to Betty.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asks.

Betty nods. "Yeah. Thanks, V. I know it's dumb to cry because I'm the one who broke up with him. But it still hurts."

"I know," Veronica nods. "But I'm here, any time you need me."

"Thank, V," Betty says. She hopes her lies are enough to stay friends with Veronica. Because if she ever finds out the truth, Betty doesn't know if Veronica will ever forgive her.

* * *

It's torture, waiting for Archie to break up with Veronica. One week passes, and then two. Betty has to act like she's perfectly happy watching him hold hands with Veronica, watching them kiss, knowing they're spending their nights together. It drives her crazy.

She's kept her distance from Archie and Jughead over the past few weeks, throwing herself into working on the Blue & Gold, and hanging out with Kevin or Veronica when she needs company. Kevin seems to have no idea what's going on between her and Archie, and Betty figures if Kevin hasn't caught on, they must be in the clear.

After three weeks of torture, Archie grabs her by the arm after school on Friday, while she's grabbing her books from her locker.

He leans in close to her ear. "I'm doing it today," he whispers. And then he's gone. Betty watches him walk down the hallway, but he doesn't look back.

Betty's stomach churns. She's not sure if she's excited or nervous. She walks home alone, her mind in turmoil. She wishes she knew what Archie was going to say to Veronica. What if Veronica guesses why he's breaking up with her? What if he chickens out? What if Veronica convinces him they should stay together?

Betty goes to her room with the intent of doing her homework, but she finds she can't concentrate. She gravitates towards the front window, looking out, awaiting Archie's return.

Her heart speeds up when she sees him walking down the street, from the direction of Pop's. Is that where he'd done it? He's alone, but she can't make out his expression. She races downstairs and out the front door, beating him to his house. His blank expression doesn't change as he ascends the steps.

"Well?" Betty asks.

"Come inside," Archie says, putting a hand on the small of her back and guiding her through the front door. He shuts the door and Betty turns to him, ready to hear every detail of what went down with Veronica. Archie glances around, like he's afraid someone might be watching.

"Let's go upstairs," he says.

Betty follows him upstairs, her stomach in knots. She feels like he's about to break up with her, and they aren't even together. But what if he's about to tell her it's not going to happen? He's staying with Veronica? Betty doesn't think she could bear it.

They reach his room and Betty shuts the door behind them. Archie goes to the window and closes the blind before turning back to her. She watches him in anguish, waiting for him to say something, to confirm her worst fears.

Archie steps towards her, running his tongue over his bottom lip. He looks nervous as he approaches her, and Betty's heart pounds erratically. He's an inch away from her.

"Arch—"

He cups her face in his hands. He brushes his thumb over her bottom lip, and Betty feels goosebumps erupt all over her body. And then he kisses her. Betty's eyes flutter closed and her insides turn to mush. His lips are soft against hers, gentle but desperate, like he can't quite believe this is real. Betty feels the same.

It's over too soon, and Betty keeps her eyes closed for a few moments, still reeling from his kiss. Archie's hands drop from her face and Betty slowly opens her eyes. Archie's smiling at her. She beams back at him, still feeling all gooey inside.

"I have wanted to do that for so long," Archie whispers.

"Me too," Betty says. Archie goes to kiss her again, but she stops him. "It's over, right?" Betty asks. Because she has to be sure. She can't do this if he's still with Veronica. "You broke up with her?"

"Yeah," Archie nods. "I told her it was because of her Dad. I think she believed me."

"How was she?" Betty asks nervously.

Archie shrugs. "She seemed fine. She said she saw it coming."

Betty waits for the wave of guilt to hit her. It never comes. She smiles, and she slips her arms around Archie's neck, and pushes herself up on her toes so she can kiss him again, harder, longer. Archie responds with fervour, his tongue delving into her mouth, making Betty press herself harder against him, desperate to be closer to him, to feel his touch all over her body.

Betty breaks the kiss, and Archie whines, chasing her mouth with his own.

"What else have you been wanting to do?" Betty murmurs. Betty hears Archie's breath catch.

"You have no idea," he says, his voice hoarse. Betty gets a thrill from the words.

"Show me."

Archie's lips crash against her own again, his mouth hot but delicate on hers. His lips trail from her mouth, across her jaw and down to her neck.

"I want to kiss you everywhere," he breathes before he sucks her skin into his mouth. Betty moans, and it feels so good that she doesn't even care that later she's somehow going to have to cover up the mark he leaves.

His hands slip under her top, his fingers dancing on her bare skin, and Betty lifts her arms so he can get it over her head. Archie cradles her in his arms as her drops his lips to her collarbone, continuing to kiss her skin, down her chest, the hollow between her breasts. Betty reaches behind her and unclips her bra and Archie pulls away, watching her with baited breath. Her heart hammers against her rib cage as she lets the bra fall from her chest shyly. She stands there for a moment, her nipples hard from arousal, and Archie just looks at her in awe.

He lifts his right hand and grazes her nipple with his thumb. Betty's breath catches. He does it again, and she can feel a tug between her legs, her panties dampening. She wants him to put his mouth on her straining nipples, but instead he grabs her hands and walks backwards until he hits the bed. He sinks onto it, pulling her with him, guiding her onto his lap. She straddles him, and she can feel him hard between her legs. She bites her lip. It's all she can do not to grind down on him. Her pussy throbs, desperate for some friction.

Archie distracts her by dragging his tongue over her right nipple, sending thrills through her body. His fingertips rest against the bare skin of her back, and Betty's arms circle his neck. He moves his head to her other nipple and sucks it into his mouth. Betty whimpers. The throbbing between her legs only intensifies. She can't help herself, she grinds down against him feeling the pressure of his hard cock through two pairs of jeans. Archie gasps, releasing her nipple from his mouth.

"God, Betty," he groans. He sounds wrecked already, and the sound of his husky voice only spurs Betty on. She grinds against him again and he lets out a small moan. He surges up to kiss her again, and his hands reach for her hair, pulling the band from her ponytail and letting her blonde hair fall around her shoulders. His fingers tangle in her hair as he kisses her.

Betty brings her hands to the hem of his shirt and pulls it upwards, breaking the kiss so she can pull it over his head and gaze upon his perfect body. It hardly seems real that she's allowed to touch him now, that she can live out the fantasies she's been having for months.

With that in mind, Betty pushes Archie back on to the bed so he's lying down. She hovers above him for a moment, on all fours, and then she drops her head to his chest, and runs her tongue over his hard body. She trails her mouth down and down until she reaches the waistband of his jeans. She knows he's hard as hell in there, and she wants to lick his cock, make him groan her name again. She reaches for his fly, but Archie catches her wrist, sitting up.

She looks up at him, tilting her head in confusion. As far as she knows, guys love having their dick sucked.

"I don't want you to do that yet," he says.

"Why?"

"The first time my cock is inside you, it's going to be making _you_ feel good," he says. Betty's stomach flips over and her core pulses with anticipation.

"Then do it already," Betty says. She doesn't think she can wait any longer. Archie pulls her back up onto the bed and flips her over so she's the one lying on her back. He undoes the button on her jeans and pulls them off slowly, leaving her in just her panties. She feels exposed all of a sudden, and she blushes at the way he stares at her, like he's never seen anything so beautiful.

He presses his middle finger to the outside of her panties and drags it down her slit. Betty gasps and rolls her head back.

"Can I take these off?" Archie asks, his voice hoarse.

"Yes."

Betty holds her breath as he pulls her panties down, lifting each of her legs so he can remove them completely. And then she's naked in front of him, her heart racing. He leans over her and presses a soft kiss to her lips.

"You are so beautiful," he tells her. "I love you."

Betty smiles. She hadn't realised how much she needed to hear that again. "I love you too," she whispers.

"I'm going to make you feel so good," Archie murmurs. He continues looking into her eyes, even as he gently brushes his fingers along the inside of her thigh. His fingers reach her wet slit and Betty spreads her legs for him. He thumbs her clit and Betty whines quietly, arching her back. His fingers delve into her folds and his lips press against her neck again.

Betty's breathing becomes laboured as Archie's fingers thrust inside her, and she squirms beneath him. She can feel herself nearing her peak as Archie fingers her and kisses her breasts.

" _Yes_ ," she pants as the pressure builds. " _Arch,_ I—" she cuts herself off with a soft moan, curling her toes as her orgasm hits her. Her eyes squeeze shut, but she knows Archie is watching her writhe in pleasure, his fingers still inside her.

"Fuck, Betty," Archie says. "I love watching you come. I've been thinking about it since that night in the car."

Betty doesn't know what to do with that information. That he's been thinking about her _like this_ for months now.

"Is that when you started to want me?" Betty asks, almost timidly. "After I kissed you that night?"

Archie swallows. He shakes his head slowly. "No, Betty. I wanted you long before that. I just… couldn't admit it to myself, I guess. That I thought about you differently."

Betty surges up to kiss him, taking him by surprise. "Make love to me, Archie," she says, sounding desperate. Archie moans into her mouth, and he finally undoes his jeans and pulls them off hurriedly, while Betty strokes his chest. She drags her hand down his chest and abs and slips it into his boxers, biting her lip when she feels his hard cock throbbing beneath her fingers.

Archie kisses her messily, hungrily, pushing her back down onto his bed. He removes his boxers, and Betty finally gets to see him naked. His cock is long and thick, and Betty's stomach lurches at the thought of it inside of her. She wants it so badly.

Archie reaches into the top drawer of his nightstand and pulls out a condom. He rips it open, and Betty watches as he attempts to roll it onto his cock. His hands are shaking. Betty feels her heart squeeze. He's _nervous_.

Betty had been nervous herself at first, but she hadn't expected Archie to be. Betty has only ever done this with one person before, Archie is much more experienced.

"Sorry," he mutters as he fumbles with the condom. "You'd think I'd never done this before." His face is red, and he's clearly embarrassed. Betty reaches over and helps him put the condom on. She kisses him to calm his nerves. His hands are steady again when he presses them against her back.

Betty lies back, pulling Archie with her, still kissing him.

"Are you ready?" Archie whispers. Betty nods, her stomach filling with butterflies. Archie positions his cock at her entrance and Betty spreads her legs for him, pulling her knees up. She watches as he gently pushes the tip of his cock into her, lifting her ass off the bed slightly. He brings his eyes up to meet hers, and she bites her lip, nodding for him to continue.

She knows his cock is big, but she's unprepared for just how much he stretches her as he pushes into her. Betty lets out a strangled moan as his cock fills her, and she feels as though she might break.

"You okay?" Archie asks, his voice strained.

"It feels so good," Betty whines. Archie thrusts his hips, tentatively, as if he's testing out what he can do to her. His cock hits her centre and Betty spasms, fisting her hands in the sheets beneath her.

"You like that?"

"Mmhmm."

Betty's eyes flutter closed as he thrusts again. He stills for a moment and Betty thinks she might die from anticipation. She jerks her hips and it's Archie's turn to moan. Betty hooks her legs around him, pulling him closer, deeper inside her.

" _Please_ , Archie," she groans.

He loses control then, driving into her hard. He fucks her desperately, and every jolt of his cock goes straight to her core, winding her tighter and tighter. The sounds that come from her mouth are high pitched an unintelligible, except for his name.

" _Arch_ ," she moans, sounding like a complete wreck.

"Yes," he pants. "Say my name. Say my name like that."

" _Archie. Archie. Arch. Oh my god, Arch_."

He keeps fucking her, even as she comes beneath him, crying out, arching towards him, her whole body trembling. And then he comes, holding himself inside her as his body goes rigid and he groans. He finishes, and drops his head to her shoulder, panting, the two of them completely shattered. But god, Betty already wants to do it again.

Archie rolls off her, still breathing heavy, and Betty curls into his side. She presses a soft kiss against his shoulder.

"Were you nervous?" she whispers. He blushes again, and Betty loves the way his whole face turns bright red.

"Yeah," he admits. "Weren't you?"

"Yeah," Betty says.

He turns to her. "I just wanted it to be really good. I didn't want you to be disappointed."

"I'm definitely not disappointed," Betty laughs. "You've already given me more orgasms than anyone else ever has."

Archie's eyes widen. Betty hadn't really meant to tell him that, but it's too late to take it back now. "Jughead never…?" he trails off.

Betty shakes her head. Archie studies her for a moment.

"And what about yourself?" he asks. Betty tilts her head in confusion. Archie clarifies. "Have you given yourself orgasms?"

Betty's face floods with colour. "Oh," she says. "Yes."

"What do you think about?" Archie asks, his voice hoarse. "When you touch yourself."

Betty can already feel the throbbing beginning between her legs again. "You, mostly," she whispers.

"Me too," Archie says.

"You think about yourself while you jerk off?" Betty grins.

"Shut up," Archie laughs. Betty snorts with laughter, and Archie pulls her into a hug, still grinning.

"I need to get a drink of water," Betty says.

Archie lets her go. "Okay."

Betty rolls out of bed, enjoying the way Archie watches her naked body as she searches for her clothes.

"Wear something of mine," he says. Betty glances at him, then makes her way to his closet. She pulls out a button-down shirt and slips it over her shoulders, before buttoning it up, leaving the top few buttons undone.

"Well?" she asks, posing for him.

"It looks so good I want you to take it off so I can kiss you everywhere, like I said I was going to," Archie says.

Betty smiles, desire pooling in her stomach at the thought of Archie going down on her. "When I get back," she says.

Betty skips downstairs, feeling light and happy. She walks into the kitchen and stops dead, her stomach dropping when she sees Fred closing the fridge. He spots her and does a double take.

"Betty," he says, not even bothering to hide his surprise.

"Archie and Veronica broke up," she says quickly, then curses herself. If it wasn't obvious enough already what she and Archie had been up to, from her wearing nothing but Archie's shirt, it sure as hell is now. She may as well have said _hey, I've been fucking your son but it's okay because he's single now._

"Oh," Fred nods. Betty's face burns.

"I was just… going to get a glass of water," Betty says.

"Right," Fred says. He's clearly feeling just as awkward and embarrassed as she is. "I'll just… let Archie know I'm home."

Betty nods as Fred leaves the kitchen.

"Mr Andrews?" she calls after him. He turns back.

"Yes, Betty?"

"Don't tell anyone I was here?" she says.

Fred nods. "Of course," he says. He leaves the room then. Betty hopes he knocks before he goes into Archie's room.

She gets herself a glass of water and takes a few sips before pouring the rest back down the sink. She heads back upstairs, stopping at the top of the stairs when she hears voices coming from Archie's room.

"Are you surprised?" she hears Archie say.

Fred chuckles. "I was surprised to see Betty in the kitchen. But I'm not surprised things didn't work out with you and Veronica."

"So, you approve?" Archie asks.

"Of course, I do, son," Fred says. "Whatever makes you happy."

"Thanks, Dad."

"I'm going to head out for a while, okay?"

"Okay."

The door opens and Betty continues walking, as if she hadn't been standing there eavesdropping. Fred nods at her as he passes.

Archie grins at her from the doorway, pants back on, and Betty cringes. He grabs her hands and drags her back into his room.

"Oh my god," Betty says. "That was so embarrassing."

"He had to find out sometime," Archie laughs.

"What if he had come upstairs earlier?" Betty says, imagining the horrifying situation. "He could have heard us."

"But he didn't," Archie says. "And now he's gone, so you can be as loud as you want while I eat you out, okay?"

"Oh my god, Archie," Betty says, blushing.

"What? Don't you want me to do that?"

Betty blushes even harder. "No, I want you to."

Archie grins. "Come on then," he says, leading her back to the bed. "And keep my shirt on."


	6. Chapter 6

At some point, they leave Archie's room to find some food. There's leftover Chinese food in the fridge and they carry it back upstairs before Fred can come home and catch them half naked in the kitchen.

Betty loses count of how many orgasms Archie has given her, and eventually they tire themselves out and settle for whispering in the dark, wrapped up in Archie's sheets and each other until they fall asleep.

Betty wakes on Saturday morning, well-rested but still a little lethargic. She looks over at Archie lying next to her, still asleep. She watches the gentle rise and fall of his chest, smiling softly.

She should probably feel guilty. She just feels loved up, and deliriously happy.

Betty places a hand on Archie's chest and he stirs as she traces circles across his chest with her fingertip. She kisses his shoulder, and then leans over further so she can kiss his chest. She can see him smile, so she knows he's awake, but he keeps his eyes shut.

Betty smirks to herself, and pulls away the sheets to reveal his erection.

"What are you doing?" Archie murmurs.

"Waking you up," Betty replies. She wriggles down the bed so her head is level with his crotch, and places a kiss on his hip bone. She looks up at him. His eyes are open now and his pupils are blown. "May I?"

Archie nods, swallowing thickly. Betty kisses the tip of his hard cock and feels it twitch beneath her lips. She runs her tongue along the underside of his length, then swirls it around the head. Archie whimpers and Betty feels a pang between her legs. She licks his cock again, then puts her mouth over the tip. She takes him into her mouth slowly, wanting to take his whole cock inside her mouth, but unsure she'll be able to.

She gags when his cock hits the back of her throat and he strokes her hair soothingly.

"You're doing so good, Betty," he says. He must sense that she's not exactly experienced at this, and his words reassure her. "That feels so good."

Betty hums against him and he gives a small groan, spurring her on. Archie cards his fingers through her hair as she bobs her head up and down on his cock, using her tongue to make him moan her name.

She can tell he's holding back, letting her lead the way when he's obviously desperate thrust his hips and speed up the pace.

" _Betty_ ," he moans, sounding wrecked. A thrill goes through her. She doesn't think she'll ever tire of hearing him say her name like that. "Betty, I'm gonna come," he warns her. "Can I come in your mouth?"

"Mmhmm," Betty answers, and Archie grips onto her hair, jerking his hips to her face and his orgasm hits him. His come spurts into her mouth and Betty swallows the hot liquid with ease.

Archie lets her go, panting heavily, and Betty wriggles back up the bed to lie beside him. Archie wraps his arm around her and pulls her close so they're face to face.

"You didn't have to do that," he says.

"I wanted to," Betty says. "I liked it."

"Yeah?" Archie seems surprised. His free arm rests between them, and he toys with Betty's nipple absently. Betty however, is hyper aware of it, the tingling between her legs growing stronger. She squirms, pressing her legs together tightly. Archie grins. Perhaps he's not as unaware of what he's doing as Betty thought.

"Are you teasing me?" Betty asks.

"Maybe."

He stops playing with her nipple and drops his hand between her legs, cupping her mound with his whole hand before sliding a finger between her folds. He fingers her until she comes, watching her the whole time.

Both satisfied, Archie wraps Betty up in his arms, as if he can't bear to have any space between them for even a second. Betty smiles lazily, stroking the back of his hand with her fingers. She feels like they're in the own little bubble, as if the outside world doesn't exist. It's just the two of them, and that's all that matters. She doesn't ever want to leave the bubble.

"Arch?"

"Mmm?"

"What are your plans today?" Betty asks.

"Staying here with you," Archie says. Betty likes the sound of that.

"Even though your dad is probably home by now?"

Betty feels Archie smile against her shoulder. "We don't have to have sex," he says. "We can just hang out. Watch a movie or something. I'll play you your song."

"My song?"

"The one I wrote a few weeks ago," Archie reminds her. Betty's stomach flips over, and she can't help but smile. It _was_ about her after all.

"I should go home and shower," Betty says.

"You can shower here," Archie says.

"Together?" Betty asks, grinning.

Archie laughs. "Just can't get enough, can you?" he says.

* * *

Living in the bubble with Archie is good. Betty feels on top of the world as they shower and get dressed, and head downstairs for breakfast, where Fred has made pancakes.

Archie suggests a Harry Potter marathon, and the three of them settle into the lounge room, Betty and Archie on the couch and Fred in an armchair. It's kind of like old times, except now Archie has his arm around her and she's snuggled into his side.

Fred leaves towards the end of the first movie, not one to be able to sit down and be idle for too long, but Betty and Archie stay and put the second movie on, and then the third one. As the credits roll for the Prisoner of Azkaban, Betty looks to Archie to see if he wants to start Goblet of Fire, but she finds he's fallen asleep.

She tries to gently extricate herself from his arms, but the movement jolts him awake.

"Sorry," she whispers.

"Did I fall asleep?" Archie yawns.

Betty nods. "I think I wore you out."

Archie chuckles and presses a soft kiss to her lips. Betty feels her phone vibrating and she reaches for it, her lips still presses against Archie's. She has to pull away to look at the screen, and her stomach plummets when she sees who is calling.

Veronica. The bubble bursts, and reality comes hurtling in. Betty glances at Archie. He's as white as a ghost.

Betty answers.

"Hey, V," she says lightly. "What's up." Veronica is silent for a moment. "V?" Betty prompts, her heart pounding, a sick feeling in her stomach.

She hears Veronica sob, and her heart cracks in two.

"Betty?" Veronica says, her voice stained with tears. "Will you come over? Archie—" she sobs again. "Archie broke up with me."

In that moment, Betty has never hated herself more. "Of course, V. I'll be right there."

Betty ends the call and looks to Archie. She doesn't have to ask him what he's feeling, it's written all over his face. It's the exact same thing as Betty is feeling.

Sheer terror and undeniable guilt.

* * *

Betty makes a quick stop at home to get changed before she heads to Veronica's. Alice and FP are talking in the living room, and Betty tries to sneak past.

"Elizabeth!" Alice calls, and Betty knows she's in trouble. She stops and pokes her head into the living room. "Where have you been?" Alice asks, disapproving.

Betty glances at FP. The last thing she needs is FP running home to Jughead and telling him she spent the night at Archie's.

"Can we talk about this later, Mom?" Betty says. "Veronica is really upset and she needs me."

"You can tell me where you were all night and all day right now, or you're not going anywhere," Alice says.

Betty groans inwardly. "I was just hanging out with Archie."

"Next time you can at least call or text me to tell me where you are," Alice says.

Betty wants to argue, but she doesn't want to run the risk of being grounded and not being allowed to go to Veronica's, so she just nods and heads upstairs. Her mother can't have been too worried about her, Betty doesn't have any texts or missed calls from her.

As soon as Betty has changed her clothes, she grabs her mom's car keys and heads to the Pembrooke.

Andre lets Betty inside, and she makes her way to Veronica's room.

"V?" Betty calls, knocking hesitantly on the bedroom door. Moments later, Veronica wrenches the door open and throws her arms around Betty.

Betty wraps her arms around Veronica and rubs her back soothingly as Veronica sobs into her shoulder.

"I can't stop crying," Veronica says quietly.

"It's okay," Betty says. "Let's go sit down."

Veronica nods and pulls away, leading Betty into her room where they sit on the bed. Veronica wipes her eyes, red rimmed and watery. Her cheeks are stained with tears and she's wearing her silk pyjamas. Still beautiful, but looking worse for wear.

"I'm so pathetic," Veronica sniffles. "Crying over boys is so last century."

"You're allowed to be sad," Betty says.

Veronica nods and bursts into a fresh round of tears. Betty puts her arms around her again.

"I didn't think it would wreck me this much, you know?" Veronica says through her tears. She pulls out of Betty's arms to reach for a tissue. "I told him I was fine, that I saw it coming. And I was at first, and I didn't want him to feel guilty, because I _know_ my family is hard to be around, and he deserves so much better, but… I just really miss him."

"I know," Betty says.

Veronica lies down and Betty lies down next to her. Veronica takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"And then Time After Time came on the radio earlier and I just… started crying. I didn't even know why at first."

A lone tear escapes the corner of Veronica's eye.

"I love him so much, B," she says, her voice shaking. "I even thought about asking him to take me back. I never loved anyone before. What if I never love anyone again?"

Betty remains silent. It's too much. Everything Veronica is saying just fills her stomach with dread. The guilt is too much to bear. It almost makes her confess everything. But she can't. That would only make it worse. If Veronica is a mess now, after losing Archie, finding out what Betty has done would shatter her completely.

Betty swallows. "Of course you will, V," she whispers. "This isn't your only love. It's just your first love. You're going to find someone else who loves you so much more than Archie ever could, and you'll forget all about him."

Veronica gives her a watery smile, and Betty wishes her words were completely selfless.

"So will you," Veronica says. "You'll find someone too. Someone who will make Jughead become a distant memory."

Betty swallows the guilt she feels, because she has to lie, and nod, when the truth is she already has.

* * *

Betty spends the night at Veronica's, remembering to text her mom this time. By morning, Veronica has stopped crying at least, even if she hasn't stopped yearning for Archie. Betty knows the feeling all too well.

As she leaves the Pembrooke and makes her way home, she tries to push away her guilt, and the question that keeps niggling away at her mind: _was it worth it_?

Is her own happiness really worth the pain she's putting Veronica through? Have she and Archie made a mistake?

She gets home and flops down on her bed, feeling exhausted. She didn't get much sleep last night. Guilt does that to a person. Instead she'd stayed awake and listened to Veronica weep through the night.

Archie appears in her room five minutes later. He must have been waiting for her. He lies down beside her and Betty cuddles up to him, nuzzling into his chest.

"How was she?" Archie asks.

Betty exhales. "Pretty messed up," she admits. "She cried all night."

"Fuck," Archie mutters. "I feel awful."

"Me too. Do you think Jughead cried?"

"Probably."

"He never talked to you about it?"

"Not really."

Archie is silent for a moment as he strokes her hair. She doesn't know if he's doing it on purpose to soothe her or whether it's subconscious, but either way it's comforting.

"Betty…" Archie starts. "Are we terrible people? Did we do the wrong thing?"

Betty sits up, propping herself up on his chest. She looks him in the eyes and shakes her head.

"No," she says vehemently. And maybe she'd been wondering the same thing, but she can't bear to hear Archie say it out loud. "If we stayed with them _we'd_ be unhappy. And if we weren't together we'd be unhappy."

"What if that's what I deserve?" It's not really a question. He says it like he really believes he deserves to be unhappy.

"Arch," Betty says, her heart breaking for him. "Don't ever think that. We're allowed to be happy. We _deserve_ to be happy." She kisses him, and he kisses her back. "I love you," she says.

"I love you too."


	7. Chapter 7

By Monday, word has spread about Veronica and Archie's break up. Betty assumes Veronica told Cheryl and Cheryl told everyone else.

She and Archie don't walk to school together. She's not sure if there's _sides_ in the Archie/Veronica break up, but if there is, she's definitely supposed to be on Veronica's. So they decide it's best to keep their distance at school.

She locks eyes with him at lunch as he crosses the cafeteria to join Reggie at his table with some of the other guys from the football team.

Betty's own table consists of just herself, Veronica and Kevin. Betty hastily drops her gaze lest anyone notice the two of them eye fucking across the cafeteria.

Veronica appears to be doing better. At least, she's not bawling her eyes out anymore. But she goes a little pale when she sees Archie and she quickly starts talking about the lack of healthy lunch options at this school. Something Betty knows Veronica has never given a shit about. But anything to distract herself from her heartache.

After lunch, Betty finds Archie waiting for her at her locker. She slows when she sees him, looking around nervously.

"What are you doing?" she hisses when she gets close. Archie gets out of the way so Betty can open her locker. "We're supposed to be avoiding each other."

"I just wanted to ask you something," he says.

"Which is?"

Archie leans close and Betty shivers, feeling his hot breath against her cheek.

"Are you wearing that short skirt just to tease me?"

Betty stops suddenly. She glances at him. "And what if I am?"

"I wish we didn't have to keep this a secret," Archie groans.

"I'll come over after school, I promise," Betty whispers.

Archie nods. He clears his throat. "Thanks, Betty," he says loudly. "I'd never pass math without you."

He gives her a wink and Betty rolls her eyes before watching him leave. She pulls her books out of her locker and slams it shut. She almost jumps out of her skin when she sees Jughead standing there.

"You must think I'm a complete idiot," he says. It's the first thing he's said to her since their break up. Hell, it's the first time he's even _looked_ at her.

"What are you talking about?" Betty asks.

"You and Archie are together."

Betty stares at him. "No, we're not."

"My dad said you were at Archie's Friday night and basically all of Saturday," Jughead says. "Right after he broke up with Veronica."

Betty glances around. She grabs Jughead and drags him into the nearest empty classroom. "Archie and I are friends," she says, once they have their privacy. "I can stay at his house."

Jughead snorts. "Come on, Betty," he sneers. "Show me some common decency. You owe me the truth."

Betty bites her lip. He's right. Doesn't she owe him at least that? And if he's already figured it out, what's the point in denying it? "Fine," she sighs. "You're right. We're together. Are you happy?"

Jughead shakes his head, looking at her like she's lost her mind. "Happy?" he scoffs. "Not even close. "But at least I'm not as crazy and paranoid as I thought I was."

"I'm really sorry, Jug," Betty whispers. "I really did love you, and I never cheated on you."

"Whatever, Betty," Jughead shakes his head. "You know, I was on my way to forgiving you. Now I don't know if I'll ever be able to."

Tears well in Betty's eyes. She hates that she hurt him. Hates that they'll never be able to go back to the friendship they had before.

Jughead turns to go.

"Wait, Jug," Betty calls after him. She hates that she has to ask him this. She knows he'll hate her even more. "Don't tell Veronica, please?"

Jughead gives her a look of disgust. "Like I said. Whatever, Betty. But if you think she's not going to find out some other way, you're an idiot."

Betty nods. Jughead gives her one last scathing look before he leaves the classroom.

* * *

Betty is pretty sure a secret relationship is supposed to be exciting. And it is, sometimes. It is when they get home from school and she can finally get her hands on him. It is when they share a look across the classroom and her heart speeds up. And it is when she walks past him in the hallway and they brush hands just for a moment and she knows no one can tell how much they yearn for each other.

But other times, it's just terrifying. It's like she's walking on eggshells, trying not to look at him too long, or talk about him too much, in case someone figures it out. She's worried Jughead is going to tell someone and Veronica will find out. She can't relax while she's at school because she might slip up, and life as she knows it would be forever altered.

She wonders how long they'll have to keep this up. Weeks? Month? Years? She would, if she had to. But she'd also love to scream to the whole world how much she loves Archie Andrews.

Cheryl Blossom's pool party is definitely not the place to do it, though.

She doesn't even know why she's going, except that everyone else is, and it's kind of hot, so why not?

She and Veronica show up together, and upon seeing Archie already in the pool, Veronica grabs Betty by the arm and leads her to the pool house.

"We have to put our drinks in the fridge," Veronica says. It's a valid excuse for avoiding Archie, except that their drinks are in a cooler full of ice and they don't _really_ need to put their drinks in the fridge, but Betty is happy to go along with it. It's probably best if she avoids Archie too. She's already well aware of how attracted to Archie she is when he's all wet and half naked. She doesn't need everyone at the party to see her drooling over him.

When they exit the pool house, it looks like the boys have started a game of pool basketball, complete with little plastic basketball hoops at each end of the pool.

"Betty!" Archie calls, swimming to the edge. "Come and play. The other team could really use you. They're getting thrashed."

Betty laughs. "Is that right. Who's the other team?"

"It's Kevin and Moose vs me and Reggie," Archie says.

Betty is about to agree. She glances at Veronica.

"You should play too, Ronnie," Archie says, hesitant.

Veronica shrugs. "I don't want to get my hair wet," she says. Betty watches as Veronica stalks away to sit on a lounger next to Cheryl.

"If I play the teams will be uneven," Betty points out.

"Midge will play," Moose says. "Won't you, Midge?" he yells.

"But we get Betty!" Kevin says.

"Screw you, Kevin!" Midge laughs, but she slides into the pool anyway.

Betty looks down at Archie in the pool. He grins at her as she tilts her head. She sighs. "Okay, fine," she agrees.

As sweet and accommodating as Archie is in everyday life, he's competitive when it comes to sport. As are Reggie and Kevin. Moose and Midge don't seem to care as much. Playing basketball in a pool is much harder than Betty would have thought, even playing without a proper basketball. She's not that competitive when it comes to sport, but something about the way Reggie and Archie crow about their impending victory makes her play harder.

Kevin passes her the ball and she swims for the hoop. She's almost there when Archie grabs her around the waist and pulls her back, spinning her around. She tries to hold onto the ball, but then he's tickling her and she can't hold onto the ball any longer. Archie laughs as he grabs it and throws it down the pool to Reggie.

"Hey, no fair!" Betty complains. "Basketball is a non-contact sport!"

"I don't know… ref?" Archie calls.

Reggie, evidently, is the referee. "I'll allow it!" it yells as he shoots the ball through the hoop.

Archie laughs as Betty splashes him, advancing on him. He grabs her and pulls her towards him. She swears for a second he's about to kiss her, and Betty is about to let him. Nothing matters except the feel of his skin on hers. He remembers himself at the last moment and swims away.

Betty's heart pounds, and she looks around, wondering if anyone had noticed the interaction. She meets Kevin's eyes and he raises an eyebrow. Oh god. Had he seen?

"Well, I'm done playing if you guys aren't going to play fair," Betty announces, swimming for the edge. Truthfully, she doesn't want to risk another close call.

"Yeah, I'm done too," Midge agrees. The girls get out of the pool, and the game seems to end after that, Archie and Reggie claiming the win.

Betty grabs her towel, wrapping it around herself as she heads to the pool house to get a drink. She opens the fridge and stares into it for a minute, focused more on her indiscretion with Archie than actually getting a can of soda.

She looks up when the door of the pool house slides open and Archie walks in, still dripping wet from the pool. He gives her a smile and her heart races. She smiles back, shutting the fridge.

"Hey," she says as Archie approaches. She's about to comment on the fact that he nearly got them caught, but the second her mouth is open, his tongue is inside it. Betty's arms slide around his neck and she closes her eyes, unable to stop herself from kissing him back, though someone could walk into the pool house at any moment.

The towel drops to the floor and Archie's hands are on her waist, burning into her skin. She gasps as he breaks the kiss and lets his mouth press against her neck instead.

"Someone could walk in," Betty manages to choke out.

"I'm getting everyone drinks. They're all too lazy to come in here," Archie murmurs. Betty's head rolls back as he continues to kiss her neck. He lifts his head and begins to toy with her bikini top. "You're driving crazy wearing this thing," he groans. The words send a pang between her legs.

"That's the idea," Betty smirks. She guides his hand to her breast and he pushes the material of her bikini top aside, exposing her pink nipple. He thumbs the hardened peak softly, before bringing his head to her breast and sucking her nipple into his mouth. Betty gives a soft whine, his ministrations having a direct effect on her clit. Her head swims.

A voice cuts through her desire, a voice that doesn't belong to Archie. "I changed my mind, I do want—" Kevin says as he walks into the pool house.

Betty shoves Archie away hurriedly, covering herself up, but it's too late. Betty feels her face burn, and when she glances at Archie, he's looking bright red and sheepish.

"Are you two…?" Kevin looks between them. Betty can't even look him in the eye. "Together?" Kevin finishes.

"Yeah," Archie says. There's not much point in trying to deny it. They could pretend this is just some one-off hook up, but somehow that would be worse. Betty doubts Kevin would believe it anyway.

Kevin shakes his head. He looks at Archie. "You've only been broken up with Veronica a week," he points out. Betty doesn't like his accusatory tone. She would've thought he'd be happy for them. For her. He always used to root for them.

"Yeah," Archie nods. Betty's tongue feels like lead. "We're in love," he says. Betty's heart lurches. The words don't seem to have the same effect on Kevin. He looks to Betty.

"Don't tell Veronica," she whispers.

Kevin sighs. "Fine," he says. "But I can't promise she won't find out anyway. Especially if you two continue to make out in public places."

Betty cringes. Kevin leaves the pool house. Betty picks up her towel and follows him, Archie right behind her.

"Where are the drinks?" Reggie yells. Archie stops. Betty glances at him.

"Right," he swallows, going back into the pool house. Betty looks around for Veronica but she doesn't see her. Instead she locks eyes with Cheryl, who purses her lips, eyeing Betty suspiciously. Betty adjusts her bikini top subconsciously, and heads for a lounger.

She lies back, closing her eyes, trying to calm her racing heart. Kevin knowing isn't the end of the world. Maybe he's judging them, but he knows she's always loved Archie. How could he blame her?

She thinks maybe she falls asleep for a minute or two. When she opens her eyes again, Cheryl is gone. Archie is talking with Reggie by the pool, both holding a drink. Veronica is still AWOL.

Betty takes the opportunity to check Archie out while no one is looking at her. Her attention is diverted when the back door of Thistlehouse swings open and Veronica marches out, Cheryl right behind her. Betty sits up, watching as Veronica makes a beeline for Archie.

Archie looks up at the last second.

"You asshole!" Veronica spits, pressing her hands against his chest and shoving him, sending him flying backwards and splashing into the pool.

"V!" Betty says, standing up and making her way over. "What the hell?"

Veronica whips her head around, shooting daggers at Betty. "Fuck you, Betty."

Betty feels like she's been slapped. She swallows. "V…"

"Are you, or are you not, fucking my ex-boyfriend?"

Betty opens her mouth, flailing, trying to think of anything to say. She feels sick to her stomach. She glances at Archie, who has surfaced again.

"Ronnie…" he tries.

" _Don't_ ," she snaps. Betty looks to Kevin, silently asking if he told. He shakes his head. Veronica looks back to Betty, her expression changes from one of anger to one of betrayal. The hurt in her eyes causes Betty physical pain. "How could you?" she says, her voice cracking.

"Veronica, I'm so sorry—"

"Save it." Her expression hardens again. "I can't believe I ever thought you were my friend."

Cheryl chooses this moment to interject. "Feel free to leave the party anytime, backstabber," she says, smirking.

Betty collects her things, feeling hollow. She feels like everyone is watching her. Archie appears at her side as she leaves, and everyone else goes back to the party. Except Cheryl who grabs her arm as she's going.

"I know you think I did this just for the drama," Cheryl says. "But Veronica deserved to know the truth."

Betty seethes. She hates Cheryl with every fibre of her being. "How did you even know?"

Cheryl shrugs, looking pleased with herself. "You're not subtle, Betty," she says. "Veronica didn't want to see it. But she wasn't hard to convince."

"I hope you're happy, Cheryl," Archie snorts.

"Ecstatic," she says, smiling a joyless smile.

Archie puts his hand on the small of Betty's back and leads her from the party. Betty's stomach churns, her head throbs. She has no idea how she's going to face school on Monday.


	8. Chapter 8

**Last chapter! Hope you all enjoyed the story!**

* * *

Somehow, Betty manages to put the incident at the pool party to the back of her mind for the rest of the weekend. Archie is pretty good at distracting her.

But Monday comes, and she can't avoid the truth any longer. She knows Veronica will still hate her, and probably Jughead, but she's kind of hoping else will have forgotten already and moved on to something else.

No such luck. It seems like word has spread around the whole school, and not one single person is taking her side. She and Archie walk in to school together, not even holding hands, just side by side, and Betty can feel the dirty looks and whispers as they walk by.

Archie notices to. "You okay?" he whispers.

Betty nods. "It's fine. I don't care what they think." She's only partly lying.

She keeps her head down in her first couple of classes, trying not to draw attention to herself. The last thing she wants is to make a scene. She's thankful she hasn't seen Veronica at all today.

At lunch, she finds Kevin sitting alone at a table and goes to join him. Even if everyone else is against her, surely Kevin will still be on her side. He frowns at her as she sits down across the table from him.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Eating my lunch?"

Kevin huffs. He grabs his tray and stands up. Betty watches him, confused. He shrugs. "Sorry, Betty."

"Seriously, Kevin? Even you hate me?" Betty says, hurt.

Kevin shakes his head. "I don't hate you. But you're the one in the wrong, and I don't want anyone to think I'm on your side."

He leaves to find another empty table, leaving Betty sitting alone. Archie appears a minute later.

"Hey," he says, sliding onto the seat next to her, his hand brushing her back as he does so. "How was class?"

"Fine," Betty sighs. "But no one wants to be seen with me."

"I want to be seen with you," Archie says.

"Which is apparently why no one else does," Betty groans.

"You want me to leave?" Archie tilts his head.

"No! God, no." Betty rubs his knee. "Screw what they think, right?"

"Right."

It's easy to say in the moment. But then Veronica walks through the cafeteria doors and Betty's stomach sinks. Betty watches her, but Veronica doesn't even acknowledge her presence as she walks past. Cheryl, however does. She stops in front of Betty and Archie, hands on her hips, ready to cause a scene. Betty glares at her, daring her to try something. Archie tenses beside her.

"Well if it isn't the couple of the hour," Cheryl smirks. "We're all taking bets on how long you two will last. My bet is two weeks."

"Screw you, Cheryl," Betty snaps. "Don't you have someone else's life to ruin?"

"I think you're the one ruining lives, homewrecker."

"Leave her alone, Cheryl," Archie says coolly.

Cheryl turns to him. "Oh, you think you're off the hook, cheater?"

Betty opens her mouth to respond, but Archie places a hand on her knee, as if to tell her he's got this. He stands up. The whole cafeteria is already watching anyway.

"Say whatever you want about me, Cheryl," Archie says. "But I never cheated on Veronica."

Cheryl eyes him with amusement. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"It's true."

"Right, so, you never did anything with Betty while you were with Veronica that you couldn't tell Veronica about?" Cheryl asks. Archie looks uncertain. "Never… held her hand? Kissed her forehead or her cheek? Slept in her bed? Never wrote her song? Told her you loved her? Thought about her while you were fucking Veronica?"

Betty glances at Archie. His face is bright red. His jaw ticks. He's unable to refute any of Cheryl's accusations. Betty knows Cheryl is probably only guessing. But Archie's reaction tells Cheryl she's right, and she purses her lips, looking like a cat who got the cream. She's won this round.

"I thought as much," Cheryl says. "So, you never screwed Betty. There are plenty of other ways to cheat."

Betty swallows. Is Cheryl right? Had they been cheating on their partners the whole time, even by simply acknowledging the feelings between them?

"You're both despicable," Cheryl says. She flicks her long red hair as she stalks off to join Veronica and Toni. Archie sinks back to his seat.

* * *

As it turns out, Cheryl really is taking bets on how long Betty and Archie will last. There's a list stuck on Betty's locker after school. She stares at it a moment before ripping it off. But she can't stop herself from reading it.

 **How Long Will Archie and Betty's "relationship" last?**

 **Cheryl Blossom – _2 weeks_**

 **Veronica – _1 week_**

 **Toni – _idk probably like a day_**

 **Ethel – _1 week_**

 **Reggie – _1 month_**

 **Dilton – _2 weeks_**

 **Jughead – _who the fuck cares_**

 **Fangs – _6 days_**

 **Sweet Pea – _5 days_**

 **Kevin – _2 and a half weeks_**

Betty stops when she gets to Kevin, her eyes welling with tears. Even fucking Dilton Doiley is on this list. Does everyone in this school think her relationship with Archie is just some dumb fling?

She grabs her things and marches out of the school, tears blurring her vision.

"Betty!" she hears Archie call. She doesn't stop. She walks faster. She doesn't want him to know about this.

He doesn't catch her until they're a block away from school. Probably on purpose. She's sure he could have caught her sooner if he'd tried. He grabs her arm and she turns to face him. As soon as she does, the dam breaks and she starts to cry. He immediately pulls her into his arms.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," he says. But it's not, and Betty doesn't feel like being comforted right now. She pushes him away. "What's wrong?" he asks.

Betty shoves the list in his face. "They're all rooting for us to fail!" she sobs. Archie takes the list and his eyes scan over it. He looks back at her, scrunching the list into a ball.

"They're idiots," he says.

"But what if they're right?" Betty asks desperately. She probably sounds hysterical. "Maybe we should just end it now, before anyone else gets hurt. At least Cheryl won't win the bet."

"No," Archie shakes his head. "Betty," he says. He places his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me." She does. "What's done is done. I know it's hard right now, but they're all going to get over it eventually. Just give it time. And in the meantime, I need you. I need you to make this all worth it, because I love you and I refuse to listen to what they say. They're wrong. They're wrong, okay?"

Betty nods, though she's still crying.

"Remember what you told me? We deserve to be happy. We have to stop feeling guilty for choosing our own happiness."

Betty nods again. "Okay," she says.

"Okay?"

"Okay. I love you."

Archie pulls her back into his arms and this time she lets him, because she needs him and he's the only thing in her world right now that makes sense.

* * *

After another day of people avoiding her, whispering behind her back, or just flat out calling a homewrecker, Betty takes refuge in the Blue & Gold office. Though she's pretty sure no one will even read the stupid paper now. Neither Kevin nor Jughead will write for her now, and though she tries to write something herself, nothing feels genuine. She's about to give up when there's a knock at the door. Betty looks up to see Veronica standing in the doorway. Betty eyes her nervously, unsure if she's about to get chewed out or if this is an olive branch.

"Hey, V," Betty says softly.

Veronica glares at her. "Don't call me that. You've lost all best friend privileges and that includes nicknames."

Not an olive branch then. Betty swallows. "Why are you here?"

Veronica shuts the door. "I just wanted to hear it from you. Why you did it. What excuses you could possibly give me for betraying your best friend."

Betty opens her mouth, but she's at a loss for words. "I'm sorry," she says lamely. "I really never meant to hurt you."

"Well you did. God, how _could_ you?" Veronica says, angry. "You knew how much I loved him. That I'd never loved anyone else before. Did our friendship mean nothing to you?"

"Of course not."

"You thought you could have everything, didn't you? The guy, the best friend. I don't know why I'm surprised. You only ever think about yourself, Betty."

Betty says nothing. Veronica stares at Betty with contempt.

"Just so you know, he's never going to love you like he loved me. He's going to wake up one day and realise that. And then it will be over, and you'll be left all alone because you alienated all of your friends. It might be tomorrow or it might be a year from now, but trust me on this. Archie doesn't know what he really wants."

Veronica turns to go, but Betty calls out after her. "I loved him first, you know."

Veronica turns back. "What?"

"You can sit up there on your high horse all you want, but I loved him first. I never loved anyone before him either. I loved him for _years_ before you came along," Betty says.

Veronica stares at her, as if she can't quite believe Betty is actually standing up for herself.

"I know I hurt you, and I hurt Jughead, and I know what I did was wrong. But you knew I loved him, and I think you knew there was always a chance he loved me back. I know you're mad at me. But I think you're just as mad at yourself," Betty shrugs.

Veronica snorts. "Whatever, Betty. Have a nice life," she snaps, and then she storms out of the room.

Betty's heart pounds. She doesn't know if Veronica will ever forgive her. But she had to say it. Archie was right, they can't go around feeling guilty forever. They can't let the demons at this school dictate their happiness forever.

She finds Archie at his locker after school. She marches up to him and he barely has time to give her a smile before she grabs him and drags his lips to hers. His arms circle around her and he kisses her back. Her shoves her up against the locker, devouring her like no one is watching. Betty forgets they're at school until someone yells, "Get a room!" and Archie quickly pulls away, his face red.

"Whoops," he says. "I got carried away."

"It's okay," Betty laughs. "Me too."

"What was that for, anyway? I kind of thought you wanted to stay inconspicuous at school."

Betty shrugs. "We're happy. Let's rub it in their faces."

Archie grins. "Okay," he says. And then he's kissing her again, and they're tuning out the rest of the world, because in the end, they only really need each other.


End file.
